


The Return to Summer Camp

by Sollux_Kleinman



Series: Summer Camp Series [2]
Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, BandTrees, Break Up, Camping, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Fighting, Friendship, Games, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Reunions, Secret Door, Sequel, Stakeout, Summer Camp, Summer Romance, Swearing, Zoevan, conman, kleinphy, two truths one lie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-06-23
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:49:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 10,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23779429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sollux_Kleinman/pseuds/Sollux_Kleinman
Summary: A sequel to my Summer Camp fic. Jared and the gang return to summer camp, however this year the dynamics have changed...
Relationships: Evan Hansen/Zoe Murphy, Jared Kleinman/Connor Murphy
Series: Summer Camp Series [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1713064
Comments: 13
Kudos: 25





	1. Chapter One: The Return

**Author's Note:**

> Well I’ve finally gotten around to starting a sequel to my fic! Enjoy!

Rain poured outside the car as Jared's mom pulled up to the summer camp. This time, however, he was dreading it even more than last year. He would much rather be spending his summer inside playing animal crossing and staying up until 3 am, but no such luck.

As his mom pulled up to the camp, Jared hopped out and gave a quick goodbye. He was instantly drenched in the rain, but didn't care.

When the camp had ended the previous year, Jared hadn't the slightest idea what would face them in the real world. They had been living in the isolated bubble of summer camp, unaware of how awful everything is.

Jared and Connor had broken up for a variety of reasons, but the main cause was Connor's unaccepting parents. It drove a wedge between them and ended their relationship two months previous.

And now he was going to spend an entire summer bunking with his ex.

Goody.

As Jared stepped into the office he was immediately met with someone flinging themselves at him.

"Jared!" Alana squealed, hugging him so tightly he had trouble breathing. "I missed you! This summer is going to be awesome!"

Jared couldn't disagree more, but didn't have to heart to. He laughed vaguely.

"Oh this is going to be so fun! I'm sorry I haven't kept in touch lately but it doesn't matter cause we're all together again!" Alana said excited. "I've already checked in, so go ahead!"

Jared was not thrilled to see Greg still worked here.

"Howdy camper!" Greg beamed. "Just sign your name here!"

Now that Jared thought about it, Greg's voice reminded him of screws in a blender.

Not that Jared had done that once when he eight.

As Jared filled out the form, Greg went on, "This year is going to be eventful! We have been planning this event all year, not to mention our new, state of the art equipment and activities-"

Jared tuned him out, he didn't care. He was just looking to getting to his bunk and passing out in order to ignore everything that was happening.

Jared finished his form and received his key to cabin F.

Jared and Alana stepped out into the rain. Unfortunately for Jared, he hadn't packed an umbrella and his raincoat was buried deep in his luggage, so he just let himself get drenched.

It couldn't get worse than this anyways.

Alana put her duffel bag on top of her head to shield from the rain, "I'm so excited to hang out with all of you again! We can go swimming, play tennis, go to the new archery range!"

Oh, so that's what Greg had been talking about when he said new equipment.

"It'll be just like last year!" Alana said excited. "Oh! How's Connor been, he hasn't been responding to my letters."

"Oh, um," Jared glanced away. "We actually, ah, broke up." Why did it still hurt to say even after two months?

Alana gaped at him, "Oh my god, Jared, I'm so sorry."

"Nah, it's fine, really." Jared shrugged.

It wasn't.

Alana looked down for a second, going quiet, "You don't think this will effect all of us hanging out, will it?"

"Oh, no, of course not." Jared lied, biting his lip. "Just like old times." He smiled sadly.

Alana gave a small smile back, "Jared, if you ever need anything, just know I'm here."

"Thanks Alana, you're a great friend."

Jared arrived to the cabin to find that Evan had already arrived and was unpacking.

"Ev!" Jared said, flinging his bag onto the floor. "My favorite tree fucker!"

Evan sighed, folding his laundry and putting away in the drawers, "I wish you would stop calling me that."

"Never in a million years, tree boy." Jared threw an arm around Evan's neck and dragged him in, rubbing the top of Evan's head with his knuckles.

"Jared!" Evan whined, managing to scramble away, his hair a mess.

Jared laughed then went to grab his bag. He noticed Evan had already claimed a bottom bunk in one of the two bunk beds. Not wanting to share a bunk with Connor, Jared asked, "Mind if I bunk above ya, tree boy?"

"Go ahead, Jared." Evan said, eyeing him.

Jared hated how gentle Zoe and Evan had been with him since the break up. Instead of quipping back with a clever comment, his jokes were met with slight laughter and awkward glances. It wasn't fun to make a joke if someone wasn't going to bite back at you.

Jared threw open his suitcase, starting to unpack. He first unpacked his secret snacks, which he hid under a pile of clothes in his drawer. He had enough Mountain Dew and sugary sweets to last him through an apocalypse.

He would rather be in an apocalypse.

"So, how's Zoe?" Jared said awkwardly. He hadn't been hanging around Zoe often due to Connor.

"Oh, you know, she's been busy with school so she's excited to be at summer camp now so we can see each other more often." Evan told him. "She's excited for things to go back to the way it was last year."

Jared didn't know if that was possible.

"Listen, uh, I might not hang around much this year. I made some new friends that are staying in another cabin." Jared lied. He just couldn't be around Connor right now.

"Oh, I understand." Evan said.

After they were done unpacking, Jared cracked open a bottle of his Mountain Dew, pouring out two glasses for the two the them. They sat side by side on Evan's bunk, sipping at the sugary drink.

"A toast." Evan said, raising his glass. Jared joined him in lifting his glass.

"To Greg?" Jared joked.

Evan shook his head and laughed, "No. To a new summer."

Jared nodded, clinking glasses with Evan. "A new summer." They both sipped at the drink.

There was noise from outside as the cabin door was suddenly opened. Standing in the doorway was Connor Murphy.


	2. Chapter Two: Out of the Way

There he was in the flesh, the elusive Connor Murphy. Jared's breath caught in his throat. The last time Jared had seen him was the day in the parking lot.

"Welcome back!" Evan said, standing up from the bed.

"Thanks dude." Connor stole a glance at Jared them quickly looked away. Jared pretended to be busy staring at his hand. Had he always had a mole there?

"So, um, how's Zoe..." Evan asked.

Connor rolled his eyes, "She's in her cabin unpacking."

"Well I'm just going to drop by..." Evan grabbed his raincoat and umbrella.

"Let me join you!" Jared jumped up quickly, not wanting to be alone in a room with Connor. 

So Jared and Evan trotted over to the girl's cabin.

Inside, they were met with the happy faces of Zoe and Alana.

"Evan!" Zoe said, coming over and throwing her arms around him. They exchanged a quick kiss.

Alana came over as well, "Oh I missed this!" She threw her arms around Evan and Zoe, hugging them both.

Zoe laughed, "Come on, Jared, group hug!"

Jared leaned against the wall, "I dunno, when's the last time you guys showered?"

"Probably sooner than you have, get in here!" Zoe retorted, waving her arm for him to come over. Jared reluctantly joined, getting squeezed hard as they all hugged. After a minute, they broke apart.

"Where's Connor?" Alana asked.

"He's unpacking, he'll probably come over once he's done." Evan told them.

"I hope this rain lets up so we can all do something." Zoe said, looking out the window. "We all need to do something as a gang again."

"You know, actually, I have somewhere to be." Jared said, inching toward the door. "I'll see you guys later."

The next day the rain had stopped. Lunchtime rolled around and Jared found himself sitting at a lunch table between Alana and Evan, Connor sitting across from him. It had been a day since he arrived and him and Connor hadn't spoken a word to each other.

Greg stood in the middle of the room and cleared his voice, "Welcome back everyone! This year is going to be a hoot!"

Who says hoot?

"Get ready for a summer full of wonderful friendship and fun!"

Jared wished he had stayed in the cabin this morning.

"This year our theme for our teams is food!" Greg looked at list on his clipboard, "First up is team pizza-"

Jared listened vaguely for his name. Greg went through a list of team pizza, team grilled cheese, team bacon, team ice cream, until finally...

"Next up we have team kale-"

No.

"Jared Kleinman,"

This was actual fucking bullshit, kale?

"Connor Murphy,"

Just as Jared thought it couldn't get any worse, it did. Why was the universe against him?

"Alana Beck, Zoe Murphy, and Evan Hansen." Greg finished. "And that's all the teams! Now gather up, we're going to all have our first activity together!"

"We're all in the same group!" Alana said excitedly. "That means we'll get to go rafting together and take hikes!"

"What's our first task going to be?" Connor said in a low voice. Jared nearly jumped when he heard Connor speak.

"Our first activity is going to be trivia!" Greg announced. "It's going to be team versus team! One of the other councilors will be passing out paper for you to write your answers down on. Winner gets a pizza party! And team pizza, don't think you have an advantage!"

A couple people laughed at the bad joke. 

Jared wasn't one of them.

"The first question for your team is... About how many taste buds does the average human have?"

Alana didn't waste a second, "10,000." She said smugly, sitting back.

"Why do you know that?" Connor asked, scribbling down the number on the paper. Evan took the paper up to Greg.

"It was in my book on dentistry." Alana smiled.

"You want to be a dentist?" Zoe asked curiously.

Alana shook her head, "No."

Jared dared a glance at Connor as the boy watched Greg for the next question. His chest suddenly hurt. Last year it had been easy to be in love, now the very same person he had been so intimate with wouldn't even look at him.

And so they went back and forth. Jared managed to come in handy a couple times, more specifically on the video game related questions, until finally the winner was to be announced.

"The winner is... team icecream!" Greg announced. 

"That's bullshit." Connor said. "We got every one of those right."

"I don't know, I don't think Peru is the capital of Russia." Evan chimed.

"I'm like 90 percent sure it is." Jared said. "But anyways, they get a good team name and pizza. This is totally unfair."

Later that day Jared was laying in his bed. Evan, Connor, Zoe, and Alana had gone out to swim and Jared had lied and said he didn't feel well. It was kinda true, in a sense.

He was enjoying his alone time until he heard the cabin door open. "Oh Ev-" Jared sat up only to see it was not Evan, but Connor.

All by himself.

Jared and Connor had not been alone since they broke up. 

"Not Evan." Connor said shortly, going through his drawers.

Jared cleared his throat awkwardly, "Uh, yeah, sorry."

There was silence.

Jared tried again, "Listen, I don't want things to be awkward this summer-"

Connor whirled around, "No, you listen, Kleinman." Jared flinched at the harshness of Connor's voice. "This summer, you're going to stay out of my way."

Jared could feel tears coming to his eyes, "So what, we're just going to pretend like the other doesn't exist? Like the last year didn't happen?"

"Yes." Connor said, not looking at Jared. It killed Jared to see that Connor couldn't even look at him.

"Alright." Jared said in a small voice. "Whatever you say."

He laid back down and squeezed his eyes shut, remembering that day.


	3. Chapter Three: The Parking Lot

It had been a crisp March afternoon. School had just ended and everyone was frolicking about, it was the last day of school before spring break.

Connor always walked Jared to his car. Across the parking lot sat Jared's large red jeep, which was coated in a layer of frost. It was not quite spring yet.

Jared hugged his coat closer to himself as a gust of wind hit them both.

"This is bullshit I can't wait for summer." Jared sighed.

Connor looked up at the sky, "Yeah." He said quietly.

Jared glanced at him, "You okay? You've been quiet all day."

"I'm fine." Connor shrugged, looking away from Jared. 

"Are you sure?" Jared asked as they reached the car. "You know, it's actually not just today, it's been lately..."

"I'm fine, Jared." Connor had snapped.

Jared held up his hands defensively, "Woah, clearly not fine."

Connor sighed and rolled his eyes, "Is everything just a joke to you?" He said, leaning on Jared's jeep.

Jared scrunched up his face, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Connor stood looking away from Jared for a moment, trying to figure out the words to say. "It's just, every time my parents are brought up, you just make jokes."

"What the fuck else am I supposed to say?" Jared threw his hands up. "Your parents fucking hate me. No, they hate us. What do expect me to say?"

"Anything else! This is a big deal Jared, they're my family!" Connor replied.

"Some family they are if they can't even accept their son for how he is." Jared retorted, turning away. "What, is that what you wanted me to say?"

"You have no right to talk about my family that way." Connor said, clenching his fists.

"And it's not like you ever stick up for me to them anyways." Jared could feel the tears the starting to form and quickly wiped them away. 

"What?" Connor said.

"I just... I just expected us to be in this together after we left camp." Jared managed to get out.

"Well then... maybe we shouldn't be together." Connor said. The minute he said it his face went pale.

Jared lost his breath, "What are you saying?"

Connor didn't even seem to know what he was saying, "What I'm saying is... if everything isn't working out, maybe we..." 

"Should break up?" Jared finished for him, looking at Connor through tear blurred eyes.

"Yeah." Connor shrugged, looking at the ground.

"So that's just it then? We're breaking up?" Jared asked, his cold tears beginning to stream down his face and drip from his chin.

Connor seemed to enjoy this just as much as Jared did, "I guess." He shrugged again. 

Jared couldn't deal with this any more, he climbed into his car, tears still rolling down his face as he took the last glimpse he would see of Connor Murphy for two months.


	4. Chapter Four: The Rock

When Jared opened his eyes again Connor was gone. Jared laid there for a while, watching the ceiling.

Eventually he got up from the bed and threw on a jacket, stepping outside. He just needed to clear his head. 

Jared started walking, and before he knew it he had ended up at the rock formation. 

It still looked just as much like a rock as it did last summer.

Stepping up to it, he stared at the large rock’s surface, contemplating.

“Jared?” From the other side of the rock appeared Alana, still in her bathing suit from swimming.

“What are you doing here?” Jared asked, stepping over to her. “I thought you guys were all swimming?”

“Oh we ended a little bit ago, the rest of them went to hang out in our cabin, but I wanted to visit this guy.” She patted the rock. “Here, why don’t we sit.”

Jared and Alana sat with their back to the rock, looking up at the sky.

“Do you remember when we first came here?” Alana smiled, looking at Jared.

“Wha- oh, our date.” Jared laughed, picking up a stone and throwing it into the grass. “That feels like ages ago.”

“I know.” Alana replied, picking at a patch of grass. “That wasn’t the night I gained a boyfriend, it was the night I gained one of my closest friends.” Alana gave Jared a small smile. “So why don’t you tell me what’s wrong, Jared.”

Hell, Jared didn’t even know what was wrong. His emotions were headphones and life was a pocket he had been put into. 

Jared tried to speak, but nothing came out for a minute, “It’s just unfair.” He said. “It’s unfair that I can’t be accepted for who I am, that I’m stuck here unable to do anything, that someone I loved so much, someone I would die for, can’t stand to be around me.” 

He went quiet, he didn’t even realize he felt that way. Would he die for Connor?

Maybe.

Alana looked at him, “I’m not an expert by any means, but do you still love Connor?”

“I-“ Did Jared? After everything that they’ve been through. “I don’t know. But either way, one thing’s for certain, Connor doesn’t love me, not like he used to.”

Alana considered this for a moment, then looked up at the rock, “Do you know why this rock’s special, Jared?” She asked.

Jared looked up at the rock, “No.” he said.

Alana patted the rock, “This rock is a glacial erratic. It was transported hundreds of miles by a glacier and was left behind when the glacier melted.” 

She paused and then put a hand on Jared’s shoulder. “This rock has been thrown around, left behind, and gone through everything to get right here in this exact spot, where it’s supposed to be. You might be getting thrown around and left behind, but you will end up right where you are supposed to go, I promise.”

Jared looked at the rock again and gave a nod, “Thanks Alana.” 

Alana stood and dusted off her pants, “Before you figure out how Connor feels, figure out how you feel. Now let’s head back.”

Alana and Jared arrived at the cabin to find Zoe, Evan, and Connor sprawled out across Zoe’s bed, laughing about some dumb thing Evan had said.

This time, when Jared saw Connor, he didn’t recoil. Instead, he considered, how did he really feel about Connor?

“The whole gang is here!” Zoe threw her hands in the air, excited. “We have to play a game, like old times.”

“We can’t exactly play spin the bottle.” Evan said, throwing an arm around Zoe. He then realized he had brought up Connor and Jared’s break up and tried to change the subject, “But uh, what game shall we play?”

“How about two truths and one lie.” Jared suggested, flopping down on the bed next to Evan.

“How are you always so good at coming up with games?” Zoe asked.

“What can I say, I’m always the life of the party.” Jared grinned before giving her a wink.

“Yeah I bet.” Zoe rolled her eyes. “Alana, you go first.”

“Oh um, I play tennis, I don’t like strawberry gum, and I love blueberry icecream.” Alana decided.

“There’s no way you like blueberry icecream, that stuff’s disgusting.” Connor said.

Alana shook her head, “No, that was the truth.” She said, proud she had fooled someone.

“Uh, you don’t like strawberry gum?” Evan asked.

Alana nodded, “Yep! I do like strawberry gum, in fact it’s my favorite!”

“I’ll go next.” Jared said, sitting up. “I want three children, I spent five days in the hospital when I was a kid, and my favorite smell is this watermelon hair gel I have.” 

He was sure had stumped everyone with this one. But before anyone else could speak up, Connor did.

“You want two children.” Was all he said, staring down at the bed. “You don’t want three, you want two.”

Jared was surprised that Connor even remembered that, “Um yeah, that’s the lie.” He said. “So who’s turn-“

“Mine.” Zoe grinned. “And I’m going to take it up a notch, I have kissed a girl, I am not wearing underwear, and I have a fetish for-“

She was interrupted by Greg bursting into the cabin, looking cheery as ever, “Remember campers, boys can’t stay in the girls rooms overnight!” With that, he left.

So they all said their goodbyes for the night before retiring to their cabins. As they walked back, Jared watched Connor.

Jared had a lot to think about...


	5. Chapter Five: A Ghost in Cabin B

The next day Jared was woken at 6 from Evan hitting him with a pillow.

"Get up." Evan whined. "I've been yelling at you for like fifteen minutes."

Jared sat up and stretched, yawning.

"Thank god I was beginning to think you were dead." Evan sighed, throwing the pillow back onto his bed.

"Just needed my beauty sleep." Jared grinned, jumping off of the bed.

"You look the same whether you've gotten two hours of sleep of twelve." Evan said, going to brush his hair.

"Well you've obviously never seen me after pulling an all-nighter." Jared snorted, grabbing a fresh pair of boxers from his drawer. Jared noticed Connor was gone.

"What's the agenda for today?" Jared asked, throwing a pair of cargo shorts on. He didn't ask about Connor, he didn't want to seem like he was actually curious about him, even if he was. He quickly hit a cosmic brownie in one of the numerous pockets.

"I dunno, now hurry up I don't want to be late for breakfast." 

When they arrived everyone was already packed into their groups, ready to start the day's activities. Luckily Zoe and Alana has saved them seats.

"How come you guys are always late?" Alana asked, finishing up her meal. Evan sat down next to Zoe and gave her a quick kiss.

Jared started to dig into his soggy bacon, "It's Evan's fault, it took him like fifteen minutes to get up."

"Hey!"

"Where's Connor?" Zoe asked. Jared had been wondering that as well, he figured he would've already been with Zoe and Alana.

"I don't know, when I woke up this morning he was gone." Evan said. "It was weird."

"That is weird." Alana looked concerned. "Do you think he's alright?"

"Oh he's probably fine, most likely he decided to ditch us and the camp activities for the day, you know Connor." Zoe shrugged.

"I guess... You know, the weirdest thing happened last night." Alana said. "I was up late reading last night when the cabin door suddenly opened, it was terrifying!"

"Yeah, I had something weird happen last night too, I woke up in the middle of the night because I felt something fall on me! When I looked to see what it was, it was my shoes which I had taken off by the door!" Zoe told them.

Greg passed by, "Ohh, you girls are in cabin B, right? Word around camp is that cabin is haunted, supposedly the girls that stayed in it last year left early because of it." 

"Haunted?" Evan said, his eyes wide.

"Ah, come on, ghosts aren't real, Ev." Jared assured him.

"Exactly, I'm sure there's a rational explanation for this." Alana agreed.

"Well if you weren't the one to throw my shoes onto me last night, I'd love to see your explanation." Zoe shook her head. "Something weird is going on in that cabin."

"Well then we're the people to investigate." Jared grinned. "Tonight Ev and I will sneak down to your cabin and see what's up."

"We will?" Evan asked.

"Yes, I've already obligated you to do it." Jared said, throwing his arm around Evan. Evan looked uneasy.

The day trudged by slowly and Connor still didn't appear. Connor seemed to be only thing on Jared's mind as he was instructed to play soccer and take a hike in the woods.

Eventually it was late evening, it was still warm despite it becoming dark, and they still hadn't seen Connor.

"Are we sure he's okay?" Alana asked as they were heading back to their cabins for some free time.

Zoe hesitated, "We should probably find him, just to make sure. Evan and Jared, you go check around the cabins, Alana and I will go down by the rock formation and lake."

"Well yoinks, looks like we got to split up, Scoob." Jared said, punching Evan lightly in the arm.

"I would not be Scooby." Evan said, clutching his arm as they headed away from the girls.

"Listen, you're as much of a Scooby as Alana is a Velma." Jared told him as they reached the cabin. Upon looking inside, Jared found exactly what he had expected.

No Connor.

"Okay, where do we think he would be?" Jared asked, standing on the porch of their cabin.

"Maybe he just went into the woods to think?" Evan suggested. "Maybe climb trees?"

"Evan, we're supposed to be thinking like Connor, not tree fucking losers." Jared said, pretending like that sentence wasn't at all aimed at Evan. 

Evan rolled his eyes, "Fine, maybe he went to visit Zoe and Alana's cabin."

"Now you're gettin' it, Scoobs!" Jared said, taking off.

"I'm not Scooby!" Evan yelled, following after him.

Somehow in Jared's running, he lost Evan. He figured Evan probably mistook the trail to the lake with the trail to Zoe and Alana's cabin. Jared shrugged and kept going, figuring Evan would realize his mistake soon and catch up with him.

However, before any of that could happen, Jared bumped into Connor.

"Oh, sorry." Jared said, backing off. "Everyone was looking for you, they were wondering where you were."

"None of your business." Connor said, continuing walking. Jared followed him.

"You just disappeared for a whole day!" Jared said, walking the winding path.

"So what?" Connor grunted.

"Had it ever occurred to you that some of us might be worried?"

Oh no, Jared had said too much.

"It's not your job to be worried about me, Kleinman, you're not my boyfriend." Connor snapped.

Jared flinched, "I know I'm not your boyfriend, but we're spending a summer together so I'd at least like to be your friend."

Connor seemed to think this over. He nodded, "We can be friends."

Jared smiled, "I'm glad."


	6. Chapter Six: Underneath the Bed

That night Evan, Connor, and Jared staked out Zoe and Alana's cabin, ready to see what exactly was happening. While Evan and Jared hide outside in the bushes near the cabin, Connor was hidden on the inside, ready to see if anything happened in there.

Jared sat against a tree, a perfect viewing spot for the front door of the cabin. Evan sat across from him, using his binoculars he had brought for bird watching.

“You see that bird up there? It’s a black-throated gray warbler-“

“I’m pretty sure we’re supposed to be watching the cabin, the birds.” Jared said, writing in the dirt with a stick.

“Right, right.” Evan said, aiming his binoculars back at the cabin. 

“What time is it?” Jared sighed, erasing what he wrote in the dirt. “It feels like we’ve been out here forever.”

Evan checked his watch, “It’s midnight.”

Jared groaned, “We’ve been out here for like two hours and nothing has happened.”

The two returned to silence. Jared squirmed, he hated staying still for so long. He wanted to jump up and sprint into Zoe and Alana’s cabin. He wanted to go and do something with his friends and instead he was trapped sitting in the bushes waiting for something that probably wouldn’t happen.

“So, uh, how’re things with you and Connor.” Evan asked, obviously trying to be subtle.

“How do you think things are, genius?” Jared replied, trying to hide any emotion regarding Connor.

“No, I just want to know how you are.” Evan shrugged, putting down his binoculars. “I mean, you only broke up two months ago, and now you’re living together-“

“Thanks, didn’t realize.” Jared said sarcastically. “Listen, things are fine, it’s like we never dated.”

Evan looked at him sadly for a second, “Okay.”

From the corner of Jared’s vision, he saw something move, “Quick, give me those.” He said, snatching the binoculars out of Evan’s hands. Putting them up to his face, he was able to see a couple boys sneaking over to the cabin.

“What is it?” Evan asked, Jared quickly shushed him.

The boys crept over to the cabin and tapped on the window before quickly ducking down. 

“What the actual fuck?” Jared said.

“What! What is it?” Evan whined, reaching for the binoculars.

“Shh!”

Another boy snuck over to the door, reaching for the doorknob and opening the shutting the door quickly. With that, they all rushed off, clearly laughing and joking as the fled back to their cabin.

Jared lowered the binoculars, a grin on his face, “Ev, I think we have pranking to do.”

The next morning the group sat at breakfast, talking as they ate their delightfully soggy French toast. 

“Why would Cabin H want to prank us?” Alana asked, waving her fork as she talked. “What’d we do to them?”

“Wait, weren’t the boys in cabin H in cabin B last year?” Zoe asked.

“Yeah, I think they moved in after the kids in that cabin moved out last year.” Jared agreed.

“Wait, are you saying that they scared those in cabin B so bad that they moved out so they could have the cabin for themselves?” Evan asked Jared, a concerned look on his face.

“I mean, cabin B is better than most other cabins, it’s closer to the bathrooms, it’s slightly larger due to a building error, and it has a secret compartment under one of the beds.” Connor said.

Everyone else looked at him quizzically.

“Oh yeah, that’s what I forgot to tell you guys.” Connor said, munching on his french toast. “Well last night I hid under one of the empty bunk beds and I noticed a small latch on the floor, I opened it up and it looked like there was a ton of stuff down there, but I didn’t go check because it was dark.”

Jared grinned at the group, “I think we’ll be skipping our hike today.”

After pretending to have food poisoning, the group was sent back to their cabins. Instead, however, the group prepared to go into the secret compartment. 

“I have a flashlight.” Evan said, pulling it out of his backpack as they headed to cabin B.

“What could be in this compartment that is so important?” Alana asked curiously. “Maybe some sort of ancient relics?”

“This is isn’t a book or something, Alana.” Jared laughed, obviously that would be ridiculous, they weren’t some story on a page. “I bet it’s food. Good stuff that they don’t have here, sour patch kids, Kit Kat’s, jolly ranchers-“

“Okay, Willy Wonka.” Connor said playfully, rolling his eyes. Jared blushed and quickly turned his face away to hide it. “I think it’s something more sinister than that, maybe it’s a murder room, you remember that kid that went missing a couple of years ago?”

“No?” Jared said.

“Oh, right, last year was your first year at this camp.” Connor said. “Well a couple of years ago a kid in cabin C did disappeared one night, never to be seen again.”

“To be fair, they figure he ran away because his parent’s weren’t the nicest.” Zoe pointed out.

“Yeah, tell that to the blood stains I saw Greg washing away in front of cabin C.” Connor huffed.

“Blood?” Evan said in a small voice.

“Why would they need a murder room if they were just going to spill his blood in front of cabin C?” Alana asked.

“Ugh, I don’t know, maybe for hiding the body or something?” Connor grumbled.

The group arrived at the cabin and prepared themselves to go into the compartment. They moved the bed aside to be able to reach it easier. Evan was too scared to go in first with his flashlight, so Connor volunteered.

They opened the latch and Connor hopped down, turning on his flashlight when he hit the floor.

“What do you see?” Zoe called.

“Uh, not much yet, this is roomier than I thought it would be.” Connor yelled back up. There was the sound of a couple steps before Connor stopped, “Guys, you have to see this.”


	7. Chapter Seven: Into the Secret Compartment

There were two options, Jared could stay up in the safety of the cabin and let one of others go first into the dark and creepy opening in Zoe and Alana's floor, or he could jump into the hole with reckless abandon and see what Connor was talking about.

So, Jared hopped down into the dark hole in Zoe and Alana's floor, as you do.

When his feet hit the floor, he realized he was in some sort of large storage space, probably something that had been used to store the camp's equipment a long time ago. Connor was a small distance away, his flashlight trained on something.

"Look." Connor said, beckoning him over. 

Jared walked over, "It's- a tunnel?" He said, looking at Connor.

"Whatever it leads to, I bet it's what they're looking to get to." Connor looked at him.

"What is it?" Zoe yelled from above. 

"Get down here! We're taking a trip." Jared called back. Zoe popped down first, walking over to them.

"What does it lead to?" She asked, peering into the darkness. 

"Who's to say." Jared shrugged.

Alana jumped in next, "Wow! Look at this place!" She said, looking at a cobweb on one wall. "It's like a horror movie down here."

Come on, Evan!" Zoe yelled. 

Evan peeked his head in, "Do I have to?" He asked.

"Yes." Jared said. "Now come on, no time to waste, we have to back by dinner."

Evan jumped in and they started their way down the tunnel. 

"You know, we haven't ruled out yet that this is a murder tunnel." Connor pointed out. 

"It's definitely creepy enough to be one." Jared agreed. He suddenly realized how close he had been walking behind Connor and backed up.

"I think that this is just an old storage or sewer thing and that they wanted the cabin for a different reason." Evan said. "Who's to say they even knew about this?"

"Well it's not like there's that many other advantages to the cabin." Jared pointed out.

"I dunno, that extra couple feet of cabin space is nice." Zoe chuckled.

"Well you're the only one that hasn't said what they think is down here." Jared pointed out. "Where does the tunnel lead?"

Zoe thought about it for a second, "I think it goes to a little hangout room. Maybe they brought down chairs and games."

"That's a good guess." Jared nodded. As soon as he finished his sentence, they reached the end of the tunnel. There was a ladder leading up. 

Connor handed the flashlight to Evan and began climbing. He opened the trap door from the inside and swung it out, climbing up onto the surface.

Jared joined him above next and was astonished to find himself not in the summer camp, but instead in a nearby town. As the others climbed up, Jared took in his surroundings.

They were right along a downtown street that was packed with shops and stores. Down the street he could see an arcade, across the road he spotted a candy shop.

“Holy hell.” Jared said, looking around.

One by one as they came out from underground, they gasped. 

“Who knew there was a town so nearby?” Evan said, looking around.

“I mean, it’s not like we could’ve gotten to it without the tunnel, the camp is surrounded in a fence, the only way in and out is the front entrance.” Alana pointed out.

“And this tunnel.” Zoe added.

“Do you realize what this means!” Jared said excitedly. “It means no more stocking up of snacks! No more boring wilderness! We can come out here whenever we want!”

“I don’t know, we could get in a lot of trouble for this.” Alana said nervously. “We could even get kicked out of the camp.”

“No way, we’ll be careful.” Jared said. 

“Alana’s right, I don’t want to get kicked out.” Evan agreed.

“Oh come on, we can stay out a little bit, right?” Zoe said, taking Evan’s hand.

Evan nearly melted, “Well, I guess.”

“Let’s go!” Jared sprinted off towards the candy shop. He was lucky he brought his wallet with him everywhere, even when he didn’t need it.

Alana followed him while Evan and Zoe ran to a bookshop and Connor disappeared down the street.

Jared went to the counter. “Can I have a bag of sour gummy worms, a thing of nerds, and a licorice rope-“

“Jared, you’re going to kill yourself with that much sugar.” Alana said, coming up behind him.

“One can only hope.” Jared told her as the man behind the counter rang up his purchase. He bought them and turned to Alana, who was now looking at a box of chocolates.

“Have someone to give those to?” Jared said, looking at the fancy chocolate.

“Sadly, no.” Alana smiled, setting the box back down.

“Don’t worry, me neither.” Jared said. “At least I got my candy.” He held up the bag.

“You should try getting back out there.” Alana encouraged. “You know, seeing other people.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready.” Jared shrugged.

“Well apparently Connor’s ready, that day he disappeared? Zoe said he was with some guy.” Alana took the chocolates up to the counter.

Jared felt himself go pale, “Another guy?” He asked, voice quiet. Was Connor really seeing someone else?

“I don’t know much about him honestly, but Zoe says Connor has been talking about him nonstop. What was his name...”

Jared stood in the middle of the store, feeling like he was going to pass out. Connor, the person he once thought he was going to spend the rest of his life with, was moving on. Jared felt paralyzed. In that moment he knew, he knew that he was completely and utterly still in love with Connor.

“Oh! I remember his name! Miguel!”


	8. Chapter 8: Prnks fr th Mmrs

The rest of the day went by in a blur for Jared.

Connor was seeing someone.

He couldn't shake that awful, gut-retching feeling even as he was dragged through the streets of a town he was so enthusiastic to be in just an hour earlier.

Jared hardly remembered walking back through the tunnel, let alone dinner. He couldn't bring himself to look at Connor. He'd never felt so foolish in his life.

Had he really thought him and Connor would get back together? After all they've been through?

Yes. He had. Despite the fact that the two had been through rough times, there had still been a glimmer of hope that the boy Jared had met last summer was still there.

Miguel was why Connor had been so happy lately, he was why Connor had agreed to be friends with Jared again. Jared was being replaced.

Before Jared even realized it, he was in bed, staring up at the ceiling, sleepless. He was too busy thinking to sleep, yet too tired to be thinking.

He could hear Connor's soft breathing from across the room.

Miguel.

Jared couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't sit in his bed and think, he'd wind up driving himself insane. He sat up in bed and threw himself off the top bunk, landing on the floor with a graceful thud. Evan turned, squinting in the darkness.

"What are you doing, Jared?" Evan asked.

"Get up, we're going to go prank cabin H." Jared said, throwing on the some clothes. 

"What?" Evan sat up. "Why?"

"Because they've been pranking Alana and Zoe, I think it's about time they got their fair share." Jared opened his bottom drawer, which was full of his very epic pranking supplies.

"But, we would get in trouble." Evan protested.

"Not if we don't get caught." Jared stood up straight, now holding a jar of honey and a can of shaving cream. "You coming or not."

Evan sighed, "Fine. Aren't we going to wake Connor?"

Jared looked over at the sleeping boy, "Nah." He said softly. "Just you and me."

Evan smiled at him.

Jared got Evan equipped and prepared and the two headed out to cabin H. They snuck through the woods quietly, making their way down.

"So what's your plan?" Evan whispered, almost dropping a jar of honey.

"Well you see, young grasshopper-"

"No."

"-we are going to sneak into their cabin and spread this here honey into their hair. After that, we're going to stab these cans of shaving cream, throw them into the cabin, and run like hell."

"Why? What does the shaving cream do?" Evan looked worried.

“Relax, it’s not like a bomb or anything.” Jared rolled his eyes. “It explodes and shaving cream goes everywhere.”

“Sounds a bit like a bomb to me.” Evan said.

The two boys neared cabin H. Jared squatted down once they got close. 

“Is anyone awake?” Jared said, peering to see.

“Doesn’t look like it.” Evan replied. “You know, maybe this is a bad idea, it’s not too late turn-“

“Don’t be a chicken, let’s go.” Jared moves towards the door, Evan on his heels. Carefully, Jared opened up the door to the cabin, taking a peek in.

Jared and Evan then proceeded to spread honey on every boy’s hair.

“Ah I got it all over myself.” Evan said, his hands covered in honey.

“Shh.” Jared told him, moving silently to grab the cans of shaving cream. Jared ushered Evan to the door and promptly popped the can with a nail, throwing the can into the cabin.

“Run!” Jared whisper-shouted. The two boys bolted back into the woods. Behind him, he could hear the commotion of cabin H.

The next morning Jared was sitting at the cafeteria table, feeling pretty proud of himself. Across the cafeteria he could see cabin H looking exhausted and cranky, some still even looked a bit sticky.

“You here what happened with cabin H last night?” Alana whispered to Jared.

Jared grinned, “Uh, Ev and I were actually the ones who did it.” He whispered back.

“You did?” Zoe turned to Evan, looking upset.

Greg came up to the front of the group, looking out of sorts, he held his itinerary in front of his face, “As you might of heard, we have had a bit of an incident last night with someone pranking cabin H.” He paused and looked at the crowd of kids. 

Alana raised an eyebrow at Jared. 

“We want you to know we take these incidents very seriously here. If anyone has any information regarding this, we urge them to come forward. If these incidents continue we will have no choice but to send home whoever is up to this.”

Evan went pale.

“I’m other news,” Greg looked happier again. “Today is our annual canoe trip!”

Zoe and Evan automatically paired themselves together. Jared looked at Alana.

“Canoe partners?” He asked.

“Sorry.” Alana frowned. “I already promised Greg I would canoe with him.”

“What?” Alana really was going to choose Greg over him? That meant he was left with-

“Guess we’re partners.” Connor said.

Jared looked over, “Heh, yeah, I guess.”

Could Jared survive a three hour canoe ride with Connor? After all, last year the canoe trip had been when they had gotten together in the first place.

“The trip will begin this afternoon, so you have the morning to prepare.” Greg told them. “Enjoy your breakfast!” 

“I’m so excited for this trip.” Alana said. “Canoeing is really relaxing.”

Zoe didn’t say anything from across the table. She still seemed annoyed with Evan.

“Yeah, I wish we could’ve picked partners outside of our group.” Connor said.

Jared felt his face turn red and looked down. Of course Connor would want to pair up with Miguel.

After breakfast Jared walked with Alana to the cabin. Ahead of them, Jared could see Evan and Zoe arguing.

“That’s a reckless thing to do Evan, you could get kicked out of the camp-“

“Sounds pretty bad up there.” Jared said, fiddling with his shirt.

“Well, to be fair, it was pretty dumb of the two of you.” Alana shrugged. “You didn’t need to go that extreme for us.”

“Just wanted to help.” Jared replied, which was a lie. He had just wanted to get his mind off of things, to goof off.

“Is it Connor that has you off?” Alana asked quietly.

Jared was silent for a minute, “Yeah.”

Alana threw her arm around Jared’s neck, “Listen, learn to love him as a friend, sometimes the friendships that start from love are the strongest.” Alana winked at him.

Jared laughed, “I’ll try.”


	9. Chapter Nine: Canoeing Trip

Somehow Jared found himself alone on a canoe with Connor Murphy.

"We bring food and bug spray this time?" Jared joked. Connor gave a small fake laugh that left Jared discontent. Obviously he didn't get it.

Jared looked down at the water, trying to think of something to say.

"You, uh, learn to swim since last time?" Connor broke the silence, dipping his paddle into the water.

Jared smiled, "Uh, no actually. Never really got around to it."

"Right, I was supposed to teach you." Connor nodded. "You know, we could still uh, maybe do that sometime,"

"Oh yeah, yeah." Jared said with fake enthusiasm. "We could Alana and Evan and Zoe-"

"Exactly, whole gang." Connor agreed. 

"So um, how've you been the last couple months?" Jared asked, helping Connor steer the canoe past some rocks. "You know, haven't seen you in a while.

"Oh, good, good." Connor said. "I finally got to finish that one book I told you about. How about you?"

"Oh wow, um I-" How come Jared couldn't think of a single interesting thing he'd done in the last two months. Come on, he wanted to look casual and cool, even if he wasn't. "I, err, have just been keeping up with school."

Damn it, why couldn't he have said something cool, it was the perfect opportunity to. He could've told Connor he had a hot new boyfriend or have been living it up at parties.

Jared had been so distracted by trying to come up with something cool to say that he hadn't even been paying attention to where he was steering. Before he knew it, their canoe was tangled in a bush near the water.

"Fuck." Connor stood in the canoe, making it shake violently. Jared held on tightly, not wanting to fall in the water. 

Connor tried to pry the branches back but with no luck, "We're stuck." He said.

"Here let me help." Jared stood as well, making the boat almost tip.

"Careful, I don't want to have to drag your drowning ass to shore." Connor told him. 

"Yeah, yeah." Jared said, pulling at the branches.

"It's not going to work." Connor smiled, shaking his head.

"Watch me." Jared replied smugly.

As Jared played with the branches, another canoe came around the corner. 

"Ah, Connor!" A boy in the canoe said as it drew nearer. "Are you stuck?"

"Oh, we are!" Connor's face lit up. Jared scrunched up his face, who was this?

"Here let us help you." The canoe came up to theirs. 

"Thanks, Miguel, you're awesome." Connor said. Jared perked up, looking intensely at Miguel.

This was him.

Miguel took ahold of their boat and pulled it, freeing them from the branches. 

“There you go.” Miguel smiled, backing his canoe away and taking a glance at Jared. “I’ll see you later, Connor.”

“Thanks, I’ll see you later.” Connor replied.

“Thanks.” Jared mumbled.

Miguel and his canoe partner paddled away, leaving Connor and Jared alone again. Jared took his paddle back out, dipping it in the stream.

Jared cleared his throat, “So, uh, who was that?” He said innocently, pretending to not know.

“Oh, that’s Miguel.” Connor said. “He’s cool.”

“Oh, I see.” Jared paused, deciding whether or not to ask what he said next, “So how long have you guys been dating?”

Connor gave Jared a funny look, “Dating? No, Miguel and I aren’t dating, we’re just friends.” He looked away. “I mean, we used to but... you know.”

Jared scrunched his face up, “What?”

“Back in sophomore year we kinda dated for a while but it didn’t work out, we’re just friends.” Connor said.

“Oh.” Jared felt stupid. 

Connor fiddled with his paddle, “Why do you care who I’m dating?” He asked, not in a mean way, but a curious way.

“No, I just,” Jared struggled to find words. “...was curious.” He finished lamely.

“Yeah, I just rekindled with him this summer, didn’t know he was going here.” Connor said.

Jared looked to the side and nodded.

Connor hesitated, “Listen. I know that the last couple of months things have been weird and all.”

“Tell me about it.” Jared laughed. “Zoe and Evan have been treating me so gently I’m going to tear my hair out.”

“I’m glad I’m not the only one.” Connor laughed with him. “But, um, I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am about everything I said back then...”

Jared nodded, “I’m sorry too.”

“I just... I just wanted to make my family happy. And officially coming out, it was harder than I expected it to be.” Connor shrugged, not daring to make eye contact with Jared.

“I know, it wasn’t easy for me either, I just wanted to be in together though. To me, it didn’t matter what anyone else said, as long as I had you.” Jared admitted.

“I wish I had been in it together with you.” Connor nodded solemnly.

“Well do you think...” Jared bit his lip. “We could, um-“

Before Jared could finish his question, Connor pulled him forward and connected their lips.

Jared melted into the kiss, it was even warmer than he remembered. He tangled his fingers into Connor’s hair and relaxed.

Things were finally right again.

Jared was in heaven for the rest of the canoe ride. They spent the time catching up, but mostly making out. It felt like forever since Jared had been this happy.

Once they reached the end of the canoe ride, they began to stumble back to their cabin, happy and in love again.

“You know, I think you’re so pretty.” Connor said, looking at Jared as they walked. “I had to keep looking away, I feared you would catch me staring at you.” 

Jared laughed, “And here I thought everyone looked away because I was just too hideous.”

Connor wrapped his arm around Jared’s waist, “Nah.”

Jared looked up at Connor and smiled, “You know, I missed this.”

Connor looked down at Jared and returned the smile, “I missed this too.”

The two reached the cabin and opened the door, stumbling in while laughing at some dumb joke Jared had made, only to find Evan alone, sitting on the bed.

“What’s up, Ev?” Jared grinned, excited to share the exciting news of his and Connor’s reunion.

However, when Evan looked up, his face was lined with tears. 

“What’s wrong?” Jared demanded, the light fluffy feeling going away.

Evan tried to form words, gesturing with his hands, “We broke up.”


	10. Chapter Ten: Getting over it

"Oh shit." Was all Jared could say. He glanced at Connor, obviously this wasn't the right time to talk about their big news.

"What happened?" Connor asked, moving towards Evan. Jared sat down next to Evan on the bed, throwing an arm around the sobbing boy.

"Well at first it started with the prank Jared and I pulled and how we could've been thrown out of camp-"

Oh shit, that was Jared's fault, he had pressured Evan into doing that. 

"-but then it spiraled into other arguments we've had in the past. The pep assembly argument, the meeting my mom argument, the alien hippo argument, you know."

Jared didn't bother to ask what exactly those arguments were. 

"Then before I knew it, it was just over." Evan hung his head in his hands. "Oh god, I've made a mistake."

"Listen, Ev, it'll be okay." Jared tried to reassure, patting the boy on the back.

"No, it's not, this is the worst thing to ever happen to me." Evan said.

"Ah, come on, you've been through a break up before-"

Evan froze.

"-right?" Jared finished, now it was actually a question.

Evan shook his head.

"Zoe was your first girlfriend?" Connor asked, looking at Evan.

Jared could tell Evan's face was growing red, "Yeah."

"Well anyways, it'll get better dude, I promise." Jared told him.

"I don't want it to get better." Evan said miserably.

"Listen, it's dinner time, why don't we all go down to the cafeteria and get some food, maybe you'll feel better." Connor told him.

"Okay." Evan replied sadly.

Zoe wasn’t at dinner. Jared couldn’t tell if that was good or bad. Evan sat at the other side of the table, looking dreadful. Jared had at least had the space to have a breakup, he couldn’t imagine if him and Connor had broken up at summer camp.

Jared looked over at Connor, who was telling Evan a story to cheer him up and he felt that warm and fuzzy feeling again, that things were exactly the way they were meant to be.

Except, you know, for poor Evan, but Jared wasn’t focusing on that right now.

“How’s Zoe taking this?” Jared whispered to Alana.

“Well,” Alana hesitated. “Not so good, she refused to come to dinner and has been kept up in her bunk.”

“-And then I told him that it wasn’t a cat, but a plastic bag the whole time.” Connor finished his wild story.

Evan laughed, tears still in his eyes. A couple rolled down his cheek.

Then, Evan had a realization, “Oh god! I was so kept up in everything that was happening I forgot my sunscreen in the canoe!” He turned to Connor. “Will you come with me to get it?”

“Yeah, of course, dude.” Connor agreed, standing up. He turned to Alana and Jared, “We’ll catch up with you guys later.”

With that, Evan and Connor trotted away.

“Well, Evan’s single now.” Alana nodded.

“Yep.” Jared agreed, eating a large spoonful of mashed potatoes.

“You know that means you could go after him.” Alana said, her eyes sparkling.

Jared nearly choked on his mashed potatoes, “Okay, first of all, ew.” He said, holding up one finger. “Second of all, isn’t Evan straight?”

“Zoe told me he thinks he’s bi.” Alana admitted.

“Noted.” Jared said. “And third of all, well, Connor and I are back together.”

Alana gasped, “Really? What happened?” She asked, leaning forward on the table.

“Oh you know, canoe trips just have a way with us.” Jared joked, finishing his food.

“This is so exciting!” Alana squealed. “Oh, Jared! We have to get Zoe and Evan back together!”

Jared laughed, “A moment ago you were saying I should get a jump on Evan.”

Alana shook her head, “Oh, you and Evan would’ve just been a fling and you know it.”

Jared grinned, “Yeah, okay.” He chuckled.

Alana and Jared took their trays up and headed out, not walking to any particular place, but walking just to walk.

“I told you it’d work out.” Alana said, lightly punching Jared’s arm.

Jared pretended to be hurt by the punch, grasping his arm and making a fake pain face, “Okay, fine, you got it right.” He smiled. “Must be coincidence.”

“No coincidence here.” Alana said proudly. 

“Just a little coincidence?” Jared replied.

“None at all.” Alana smiled back at him. “I knew Connor wasn’t dating Miguel.”

“What?” Jared scrunched up his face.

“You were too scared to do anything so I gave you the push you needed, and it worked.” Alana said, swinging her arms happily as she walked. 

Before Jared had a chance to react, Zoe appeared out of forest ahead of them. Jared thought she looked just as rough as Evan did.

“Hey!” Jared said, waving his hand.

Zoe gave miserable reply, “Hi.” 

“Here, I save you some food.” Alana said, handing over a box of mashed potatoes and chicken that Jared hadn’t previously noticed.

“How are you feeling?” Jared asked as he and Alana started to walk with Zoe.

“Not good.” Zoe said, sighing. “And a little pissed.”

“Pissed?” Jared questioned. Alana shot him a look.

“It’s just that it was really selfish of Evan to pull that prank, knowing it could affect me and Alana because we will be prime suspects for cabin H.”

“Listen, it’s really not Evan’s fault-“ Jared tried to argue.

“Evan had a choice in the matter, and he made it.” Zoe shrugged, clearly not wanting to talk about this subject anymore. 

So, Jared did what any unreasonable person would do, and bring it up.

“Really, I made him, it’s not his fault and he shouldn’t take the blame for my stupid decision.” Jared told her. He really didn’t want to be the cause of Evan and Zoe’s breakup.

“Jared, it’s okay, we didn’t just breakup over that one thing, it’s a couple things.” Zoe sighed. “Don’t blame yourself.”

Jared was quiet after that and the three continued walking. That was, until Connor and Evan appeared before them in the path. Zoe look at Evan, anger in her eyes.

“Jared, I just want you to know that I am sorry for what I’m about to do.” Zoe said.

“Wha-“ Before Jared could finish his question, Zoe pulled his by the collar of his shirt and kissed him.


	11. Chapter Eleven: Promise

Oh fuck.

Both Evan's and Connor's jaws dropped. Zoe stuck her nose in the air and turned on her heel, leaving to go back to her cabin.

Jared stood, trying to form words, "That, uh, that's not-" he tried to say.

"Save it, Kleinman." Connor said, turning around and storming off into the forest.

"Jared." Evan choked, tears forming in his eyes. "Why-"

"No, I swear-" Jared tried to protest. But, like the others, Evan disappeared back into the woods, leaving Jared alone with Alana.

Jared sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "I'm not even sure where to start." He said.

Alana shook her head, "Why do you always end up in these situations?" She asked.

Jared shrugged, "Fuck if I know." He decided to start with Evan. He knew Connor probably was pissed beyond all belief at the moment and wouldn't listen to him, so Jared would give him some time to cool down.

Jared saw Evan take off towards the cabin, so that was where he'd go. "I'll go take to Evan first." He told Alana.

"Yeah, I better go talk to Zoe, it seems she has some stuff going on too." Alana said. "See you later, Jared."

"Bye, 'Lana." Jared called, jogging toward the cabin. What would he say to Evan to make the boy believe he didn't betray him?

Sure enough, Jared found Evan crying on the bed. When he saw Jared enter, he turned away.

"Friends don't do shitty things to each other." Evan said.

"Remember that time you told Zoe that I liked Alana even though I didn't and then Zoe told Alana and I ended up having to go on a date with her?" Jared joked slightly, it was not well received from his audience.

"Ev, I'm not interested in Zoe." Jared told him, sitting on the bed next to him. 

"You just kissed her." Evan said dryly.

"No, she kissed me." Jared said, laying back onto the bed. "I haven't told you this yet, but Connor and I are back together."

Evan turned around to stare at Jared, "What, really?" He asked.

Jared raised his eyebrows, "Well at least we were until this happened. Who knows now."

Evan seemed to soften, "It'll be okay, Jared." He laid down next to the boy. "I'm sure everything will turn out fine."

"I don't know, I think our relationship is still pretty fragile from the last break up." Jared laughed. "Not sure if I'm ready for a second break up."

Evan was quiet for a second, "Go on, her out of here, go get him."

Jared gave him a quizzical look, "What?"

"Go talk to Connor." Evan instructed. "Go get him back."

Jared smiled at Evan, "Only if you go talk to Zoe."

Evan made a face at Jared, "Things are... different between Zoe and I right now. One thing I do know though, is that you and Connor still love each other and this is just a big misunderstanding. What's happening between Zoe and I isn't one." Evan sighed. "Go on."

So, Jared pried himself off the bed and left to go find his very upset boyfriend.

Jared found him where most of the group went when they were upset, the rock. Connor sat at the edge, his knees scrunched up to his chest with his face buried in them. Jared approached him gently.

“Hey Con.” He said, sitting down next to him.

“Is this revenge?” Connor’s voice was heavy with hurt. “Did you convince me you liked me again just to hurt me?”

Jared’s heart broke with Connor’s, before he knew it, he was crying. “No, Con, I’d never do that to you.” He promised.

Connor lifted his tear streaked face up and looked at Jared, “Then what the hell was that!”

“I swear, it wasn’t me and it definitely wasn’t aimed at you.” Jared explained. “After Evan and Zoe broke up, she wanted revenge. She doesn’t even know we’re back together.”

Connor stared at him for a moment, “So, you’re still my boyfriend?”

Jared laughed through his tears, “As long as you’ll have me.” 

“I’ll always have you.” Connor drew Jared into a tight hug. Jared buried his face into Connor’s chest, taking in Connor’s warm scent. He wished he could always smell like Connor. Connor’s grip was tight and Jared could feel tear drops landing on the back of his neck.

“I love you.” Connor said softly.

“I love you too.” Jared replied.

“Promise you’ll never hurt me.”

“I promise.”


End file.
